Best-ever players, post-merger, to never make post-season

[74_75_78_79_]

Yes, Joe Thomas’s retirement after 11 seasons is what brings this on. He and Archie first to come to mind. Archie in an era where 4, then 5, teams per conference would make the playoffs, Thomas when 6 per conference would qualify. FWIW, at least Thomas in his rookie year experienced that 10-6 finish under Crennel/Chudzinski. 8-8 in ’79 was the best Archie ever experienced. What other great individual careers in vain (no playoffs) can you think of since 1970?

[conace21]

Takeo Spikes

[74_75_78_79_]

Takeo Spikes

I thought about him shortly after posting this but, without looking it up, I thought maybe he landed a playoff campaign before he retired.

Claude could have easily been on this list had a bad (for the next few years) team picked him up instead of Philly after the ’78 season.

[Jeremy Crowhurst]

Nnamdi Asomugha. He was with the 49ers to start 2013, but was cut halfway through the year, so he wasn't on the team that made the post-season.

[74_75_78_79_]

Without starting a new thread, how about best player(s) to not only never be on a playoff team - but not even a .500 team??

No one comes to mind right away.

[SixtiesFan]

Without starting a new thread, how about best player(s) to not only never be on a playoff team - but not even a .500 team??

No one comes to mind right away.

He doesn't qualify, but "The Pro Football Chronicle" (1990) stated on page 281 of O.J. Simpson: "You forget how bad Simpson's teams were. Six won three or fewer games. We haven't figured it out for everybody, but he could have the worst winning percentage of any Hall-of-Famer."

Simpson was on one playoff team, 1974, and three teams over .500, 1973-75.

[JWL]

Brandon Marshall (the wide receiver)

[ChrisBabcock]

Archie Manning

[JeffreyMiller]

Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers

[7DnBrnc53]

Floyd Little
Larry Wilson